July 1st wasn’t just Canada Day. It was the 40th anniversary of what was once a game-changing device: The Sony Walkman.
 
Legend has it that the honchos at the Japanese electronics giant didn’t see the potential of a personal listening machine that didn’t have a speaker. If that’s true, they proved themselves wrong when their creation became the must-have gadget of the 90s.
 
I had several of them over the years, beginning with one that had a rotary-type tuning dial and a cassette player. Over the years, it morphed into a digital tuner, but always that same tape player was there. I used mine for years, before finally upgrading to an MP3 player. (Since I never throw anything out, you'll find some pics of them below.)
 
Most people now just use their phones to store their music. But it can’t be over-emphasized just how major this invention was. It was both a boon to radio - because you could listen to whatever station you wanted – and a bane, because if you were listening to pre-recorded tape you weren’t hearing your local stations.
 
So happy anniversary to the Walkman. It was a major part of many lives in the past few decades. And in many ways, it was the forerunner of the digital devices we all depend on today.
 
Reflections on the Walkman and Radio on the Occasion of the Former’s 40th Birthday
 
The Sony Walkman Turns 40

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My first Walkman. Notice the analogue radio dial and the Canadian-like Maple Leaf logo,



Walkman #2 was an innovation - digital tuning and 9 radio presets! Not to mention auto reverse.



Walkman #3 wasn't a Sony. It was made by Aiwa - but it had 30 presets!



Walkman #4 was a real innovation - 40 different stations could be stored. Unfortunately, there weren't 40 stations I wanted to listen to, so I have no idea what I programmed on them. 



And finally, for the first (and almost certainly the last) time, all of them together in one space!


Now if I could just find those old cassettes...